EN meets The Sport and Fitness Show

EN sits down with Josie Pether, event manager at The MoveGB Sport and Fitness Show in Brighton, to learn more about the upcoming show.

Tell us a about the show – how did it start and why was it held in Brighton?

As a parent, our director Lisa spent many hours seeking out weekend entertainment for her active boys and their friends. Struggling to find things to do which weren’t time limited, would engage different ages and were enjoyable for her too, she decided to take matters into her own hands.

A strong advocate of healthy living and regular activity, Lisa wanted to create an interactive and more importantly, free to enter family event, where activity loving people could spend as long as they wanted.

The city of Brighton and Hove has a fantastic reputation for supporting the arts, music and a somewhat alternative lifestyle. What is little talked about or known is that fact that we are an incredibly sporty city. We have the great advantage of being sandwiched between the English Channel and the Sussex Downs which gives us a wealth of opportunities to exercise outdoors all year round.

The local population certainly take advantage of everything that the area has to offer which now includes Blue Flag Beaches. We also have an array of choices when it comes to gyms and indoor activity. There is something for everyone. Taking place on Hove Lawns, overlooking the beautiful English Channel, it’s difficult not to feel inspired to get outdoors! Endorsing a healthy, active lifestyle we are able to show families the range of exercise they could take part in as part of our mission to get the entire family active.

What kind of audience does it attract?

The show attracts 20,000 visitors, who are a mixture of fitness loving families from around Brighton & Hove, Brighton and Hove Triathlon competitors and their supporters and tourists who are in the area visiting.

How did the inaugural 2016 event go?

The inaugural year of The Sport and Fitness Show 2016 saw 20,000 sport lovers get active over the weekend of the 10-11 September. The event hosted activations from over 70 exhibitors including Innocent Coconut Water, Go Ape, BMW, England Netball, Little Miracles Drinks, Travel Bag and many more. Families took part in free fitness classes on the main stage sponsored by iPro Sport with classes led by some of the UK leading trainers provided by the likes of Zumba UK and Les Mills. ‘Have A Go’ activities included a real snow ski and snowboard slope, climbing wall, netball court, yoga tent, segway adventure and a range of sports coaching including football, cricket, rugby and even Harry Potter style Quidditch!

The show also took place alongside the Brighton and Hove Triathlon, which saw the sun shine as 1,000 entrants raced on Brighton seafront.

What’s new for 2017?

Multi-gym membership provider, MoveGB have come on board as headline sponsor to bring The MoveGB Sport and Fitness Show to Hove Lawns. They’ll be taking showcasing their Brighton partners on the fitness stage for the public to try for free.

SpringFree are bringing their world famous trampolines installed with the latest interactive Tgoma technology. Children and adults alike will battle it out to be crowned champion of virtual challenge ‘Alien Stomp’.

England Golf will be joining us on Hove Lawns to bring a Golfparc® course to Brighton seafront. Working with Brighton Junior Golf, they’ll be providing sessions on the multisport pitch, inspiring children to get active alongside the whole family.

Happy Hot Tubs will be bringing an Endless Pool. Providing the facilities to try wetsuits as well as testing swim skills over the weekend, it’s the ultimate beachfront attraction.

Brand new for this year, Micro Scooters will be supplying a fantastic scooter test track and are bringing a variety of scooters for the entire family to test out.

What makes the show unique?

The MoveGB Sport and Fitness Show is completely free to enter for the public and with such a variety of activity to try for free, we hope our visitors will find a new sport that they love. It’s stiauted in a lovely beachside location, and will showcase alternative sports, such as Quidditch (2016) and American Football, cheerleading and buggy dance classes for new mums this year.

The MoveGB Sport and Fitness Show takes place on 16-17 September at Hove Lawns Brighton.

EN meets The Sport and Fitness Show was last modified: September 12th, 2017 by Nicola Macdonald